Comments on: Of Mandrake and Men

I finally found a few minutes to setup a new computer I've had sitting around
here for the last month. I built it to speed up REBOL compiles and to work on
other development projects like REBOL/Services.
It's a 2.8 GHz P4 with 1024 MB interleaved fast RAM, etc.
Running www.rebol.com/speed.r computes it to be:

When it came time to install an OS on this hardware, I decided to do something a little different.
We've had many requests in recent years to provide better support for
Mandrake Linux, so I actually purchased a copy (to help support alternative software), and
after a few weeks the CDROM finally arrived (a bit odd that it took so long to get
here because it was sent from California, where I live). Yesterday, I decided to take
a few minutes to install it.

Mandrake V10 is a very "pretty" Linux - from the time you insert the install disk
and on.
Really nice GUI features. That's the positive side, but unfortunately, I have to say that there
was a huge negative with Mandrake: this is the most disfunctional Linux system I've
ever used. Normally when you install Linux, you get GCC (CNU C compiler), CVS
(source control), SSH (secure shell), and other features as the default. That's
because most people that use Linux are going to use those packages. Afterall,
that's what
Linux is all about: compiling stuff. Unfortunately, it appears that Mandrake does not install those
as the default. So, what you end up with is a system that has a very nice GUI,
has OpenOffice installed, but does not do the normal things you need in
Linux. You can't even open terminals to other systems on your net, because there
is no telnet, ssh, nor rsh.

There were a few other small things, like the fact that the system crashed during the
registration process, getting the proper screen resolution and refresh rates is a pain
(and not easy to switch... I'm about to the point were I'm going to start editing the
X86config file), and their main package installer is horribly broken (making it harder
than necessary to install the missing software that should have been installed in the
first place.)

So, I decided to contact Mandrakesoft... especially since as
a software company ourselves, I knew they would really want to know about these
small problems. I can relate.

That is where Mandrake fails in a huge way. Try finding a reasonable way
to contact them about these kinds of problems. I suppose some of this is due
to the "open source" nature of Linux... it is a fuzzy open company.
There is no "the buck stops here" person who's in charge. No one is going to get fired.
It reminded me of trying to contact a big corporation. It's too difficult.
Most users are not going to bother with it.
I have yet to find a simple "report a problem" web form like REBOL Feedback, and what
they provide for "bug reports" in their configuration app requires that you have
deeper knowledge about the executable and rpm package name. (Compared to the simple
and fast feedback built into AltME, the Mandrake method is far too complex.)

All of this was rather disappointing to me. I started down the Mandrake path to save myself
time and hassle, but in the end, it has cost me too much time. Also, I'm disappointed
because deep down I was secretly hoping to find a nice low cost alternative to MS Windows for general
purpose GUI-oriented client computing. Unfortunately, Mandrake is so very close,
but it is not there yet. They need to clean up these last few problems,
and the need to make it really easy for users to contact them about problems.

Sorry if this seems like a flame. I'm just really annoyed right now.
These silly operating system problems make me crazy.
"Where's Amiga when you really need it?"

By the way, I should note: I'm perfectly willing to remove this blog if someone can show
me the "error in my ways". Just don't send me the generic email addresses for Mandrakesoft.com. I already know them.